United Nations Security Council Lifts Sanctions on Iraq - 2003-05-22

The United Nations Security Council has lifted thirteen years of economic sanctions against Iraq with fourteen votes in favor and no opposition. Syria was absent during the vote on the resolution to lift sanctions, which was sponsored by the United States, Britain, and Spain. Russia, France, and Germany, three countries that strongly opposed the U.S.-led war in Iraq, voted in favor of the resolution. Today's resolution allows U.S. and British forces to assist in establishing a government recognized by the international community in Iraq, representing the people of that country, by facilitating the formation of a temporary government in Iraq. This resolution also enables the sale of Iraqi oil and provides for the funding of the country's reconstruction. John Negroponte, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, stated that the time has come for the people of Iraq to benefit from their natural resources, which had been unexploitable due to the sanctions imposed against Saddam Hussein's regime. International sanctions against Iraq were imposed following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The extraction and export of Iraqi oil is set to resume in the near future. The lifting of sanctions, which was achieved with a decisive majority today, is considered a diplomatic victory for the United States.